Pardon My Dust....

We all need a little change now and then, even in the blogosphere. I was in the midst of contemplating the start of a new blog, brainstorming names in that way that we do; when I realized that as hard as I was racking my brains, nothing I could come up with was better than what I already had!
Feeding the Muse has been mostly a blog about my life as a Chef, although it sometimes veered into this or that, and that has been swell. But as I see another bend in the road on the horizon I feel that I would like to take the Muse in some new directions. So you may see some reformatting, some different looks and different content coming soon.

don't panic.

Summertime...and the Livin' is Easy

I'm not sure about fish jumping; but in the South Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer. Kids are almost done with school, grills are firing up and pools are open for business. Now we all know what a hardcore Coca-Cola fan I am; to a fault. in fact. I drink entirely too much of the stuff for it to be good for me. So I set about the task of creating a summer beverage that would keep me happy without filling me with calories and/or chemicals.

Sweet Tea Spritzer
I'm sure that someone else has made this before me; so I won't say I "invented" it. But I like to think that I've adapted it to my tastes and made it my own.

I brewed Luzianne tea at super strength (one family-size teabag and about 10-12 oz of water) and also brewed some Celestial Seasonings Peppermint tea at 2x strength. I let them steep for about 5 minutes and poured them into a carafe with 3 packets of Splenda. It didn't make very much, but that's ok.
Pour about 3 oz of Sweet Mint Tea concentrate into a tall iced tea glass and then add ice. Then fill the rest of the glass with club soda or flavored seltzer water. It's fizzy and refreshing.

Adult modification: Add 1-2 oz of Limoncello to your glass before you top it off with seltzer. Makes a helluva Arnold Palmer for the over-21 folks.

Now, go relax on the porch.

One Year Later

I haven't posted anything here in one year, almost to the day. The Muse fled me at the end of last year and I could not find anything to say about spending another year in the same damn kitchen. Although this year, I finally got some competent help. So that made a nice change.
It was a contract year this year. And my company lost. So, for better or worse, I will not be in this kitchen ever again. The school year is winding to a close and so too, my time there. There are a few things I will miss; some people and some of the kids. Largely I will be glad to be gone.

It's leaving time...